The present invention relates to a drivetrain for a motor vehicle, which has a first electric machine for providing drive power which can be transmitted via a first transmission arrangement to a differential of a driven axle of the motor vehicle. Furthermore, the drivetrain has an internal combustion engine and a second electric machine which is coupled to the internal combustion engine in order to charge the electrical energy store in a generator mode. Furthermore, a second transmission arrangement is provided which is designed to connect the internal combustion engine to the differential.
A drivetrain of said type is known under the term “range extender”. A drivetrain of said type is designed to supply drive power to the vehicle by means of the first electric machine. To increase the range of the motor vehicle, the internal combustion engine is provided; this can charge the electrical energy store by means of the second electric machine, if appropriate also while electrical power is being extracted from the energy store by means of the first electric machine. The range can hereby be extended considerably in relation to a purely electric vehicle.
Furthermore, in the case of a drivetrain of said type, it is generally provided that the motor vehicle can also be driven by means of the internal combustion engine.
The second transmission arrangement used for this purpose may have a conventional motor vehicle transmission with a multiplicity of gear stages. This however in turn increases the weight of the vehicle.